{"id":889210,"date":"2026-10-20T20:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T20:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889210\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T20:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T20:10:12","slug":"how-the-cadillac-formula-1-team-designed-a-custom-texas-themed-livery-for-the-united-states-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889210\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team designed a custom, Texas-themed livery for the United States Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\t\tHow the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team designed a custom, Texas-themed livery for the United States Grand Prix<\/p>\n

2026-10-20<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

This weekend, the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team will show off its finest western wear. The United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, marks the debut of a one-off livery that celebrates America\u2019s New Formula 1\u00ae team with a tribute to the style and traditions of the American West. GM News spoke with the designers and creatives who crafted this all-American motif in a top-secret project completed over a few short weeks ahead of race weekend.<\/p>\n

It all began with a genuine Texan: Vincent Traina, design manager at the General Motors Performance, Motorsports and Accessories studio. Traina grew up in Dallas and hasn\u2019t missed a single Formula 1\u00ae race since childhood, when his dad would wake him up in the early morning hours to watch races broadcast from Europe.<\/p>\n

So when the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team decided to do a custom one-off livery celebrating its American roots at the United States Grand Prix, it was a career-defining moment for Traina. \u201cInjecting that creativity from the GM Design side, bringing in the culture of Texas as a Texan, and being such a fan of Formula 1\u00ae, it all hit home for me,\u201d he told GM News.<\/p>\n

The project began over the summer with a visit to GM Design in Detroit for the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team creatives led by Cassidy Towriss. It proved to be a remarkably short turnaround time to develop a complete race car livery. Very quickly, the design team decided on a motif inspired by western wear, with nods to the chain stitching of blue jeans and vintage cowboy shirts, the scrollwork of fine saddlery, and hidden motifs that nod to the city of Austin and the iconography of the American West.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like the whole livery is embroidered right onto the car, which is really cool,\u201d Traina told GM News.<\/p>\n

A Formula 1\u00ae car\u2019s shape is dictated by the rigors of competition. The car\u2019s bodywork is refined down to the millimeter by engineers obsessing over downforce, aerodynamics, and the need for airflow to cool the engine and brakes as the car screams past 200 mph. Fitting the Austin livery onto such a precisely tailored canvas required Formula 1\u00ae expertise, so Traina\u2019s team in Michigan collaborated with designers in the UK, where the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team technical center is based. That\u2019s where Jamie Thresher, senior design visualization CG artist, came in.<\/p>\n

\u201cCadillac Formula 1\u00ae gave us some guardrails,\u201d Thresher told GM News. \u201cIt all had to be driven by aerodynamics. We were given some areas of the car to work with, and it\u2019s all about accentuating those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thresher is not shy about acknowledging the challenges of creating a Formula 1\u00ae livery on such a tight turnaround. \u201cOf all the themes we came up with, this was probably the hardest one we could have picked,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cRendering each individual stitch and executing it well in a digital illustration is hard. When the first few deadlines came around, it was a little daunting. But once you start going on it, you just get excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole collaborative effort between Michigan and the UK has been so great,\u201d Traina said. \u201cWe love getting that perspective. Formula 1\u00ae is so anchored in England, it was great to cross-pollinate ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Austin livery, the team wanted to celebrate Americana, Texas, and the American West, without falling into caricature or tropes. \u201cIt had to be serious, it had to look authentic,\u201d Traina said. \u201cWe treated the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae car like we would treat the interior of a Cadillac production vehicle \u2013 keeping the design elements very elevated, keeping the color palette nice and clean, but still bringing in the culture and being a little bit playful. We wanted it to feel a little lighthearted, but also like it belongs, and has a depth of detail that brings in the heritage and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Formula 1\u00ae fans will know that this is the third one-off livery the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team has debuted this season, with custom designs having appeared at the Miami Grand Prix in May and the British Grand Prix in July. \u201cThis season, we\u2019ve explored American identity through its symbols, its colors, and now its character,\u201d said Cassidy Towriss, Chief Brand Advisor for the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team. \u201cIn Miami, we drew on American symbols. At Silverstone, we celebrated American color. For Austin, we wanted to explore another part of that story through the character of the American West. There\u2019s so much depth to American culture, and that gives us room to express who we are as a team in ways that feel authentic, thoughtful, and distinctive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCreating the special Formula 1\u00ae livery for the U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas was an extraordinary opportunity to bring together the craft of Texas, the distinctive language of Texas style, and the precision of Cadillac design,\u201d said Dominic Najafi, Executive Director of Global Cadillac. \u201cThe embroidery-inspired theme is rooted in Texas craftsmanship, while the overall execution was developed hand in hand with the Cadillac Formula1\u00ae Team. The resulting livery reflects both the exquisite artistry and the exacting precision that define Cadillac design.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tribute to Texas extends beyond the race cars, with custom driver suits for Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio P\u00e9rez that echo the western wear theme. A few thematic Easter eggs are hidden on the race cars themselves, including embroidered depictions of the Austin skyline and a map of the Circuit of The Americas. The livery includes 50 stars representing the United States of America, cactuses representing Texas, and a horseshoe with its heels facing up, a symbol of good luck.<\/p>\n

The Austin livery was an out-of-the-ordinary project for Traina, Thresher, and Formula 1\u00ae as a whole. \u201cWe\u2019ve never really seen anything like it,\u201d Thresher told GM News. \u201cIt appeals to people, but it\u2019s done in a tasteful way, and it stays true to Cadillac.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team takes to the track in Austin this weekend, it will be a watershed moment for everyone who worked on this one-off, Texas-themed design. \u201cI never once thought I would be designing an F1\u00ae livery,\u201d Thresher told GM News. \u201cI\u2019m forever grateful for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traina agrees. \u201cTo be able to contribute like this to a Formula 1\u00ae effort, it\u2019s just been a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cadillac<\/p>\n

This weekend, the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team will show off its finest western wear. The United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, marks the debut of a one-off livery that celebrates America\u2019s New Formula 1\u00ae team with a tribute to the style and traditions of the American West. GM News spoke with the designers and creatives who crafted this all-American motif in a top-secret project completed over a few short weeks ahead of race weekend.<\/p>\n

It all began with a genuine Texan: Vincent Traina, design manager at the General Motors Performance, Motorsports and Accessories studio. Traina grew up in Dallas and hasn\u2019t missed a single Formula 1\u00ae race since childhood, when his dad would wake him up in the early morning hours to watch races broadcast from Europe. <\/p>\n

So when the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team decided to do a custom one-off livery celebrating its American roots at the United States Grand Prix, it was a career-defining moment for Traina. \u201cInjecting that creativity from the GM Design side, bringing in the culture of Texas as a Texan, and being such a fan of Formula 1\u00ae, it all hit home for me,\u201d he told GM News.<\/p>\n

\"Cadillac<\/p>\n

The project began over the summer with a visit to GM Design in Detroit for the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team creatives led by Cassidy Towriss. It proved to be a remarkably short turnaround time to develop a complete race car livery. Very quickly, the design team decided on a motif inspired by western wear, with nods to the chain stitching of blue jeans and vintage cowboy shirts, the scrollwork of fine saddlery, and hidden motifs that nod to the city of Austin and the iconography of the American West. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like the whole livery is embroidered right onto the car, which is really cool,\u201d Traina told GM News.<\/p>\n

A Formula 1\u00ae car\u2019s shape is dictated by the rigors of competition. The car\u2019s bodywork is refined down to the millimeter by engineers obsessing over downforce, aerodynamics, and the need for airflow to cool the engine and brakes as the car screams past 200 mph. Fitting the Austin livery onto such a precisely tailored canvas required Formula 1\u00ae expertise, so Traina\u2019s team in Michigan collaborated with designers in the UK, where the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team technical center is based. That\u2019s where Jamie Thresher, senior design visualization CG artist, came in.<\/p>\n

\u201cCadillac Formula 1\u00ae gave us some guardrails,\u201d Thresher told GM News. \u201cIt all had to be driven by aerodynamics. We were given some areas of the car to work with, and it\u2019s all about accentuating those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cadillac<\/p>\n

Thresher is not shy about acknowledging the challenges of creating a Formula 1\u00ae livery on such a tight turnaround. \u201cOf all the themes we came up with, this was probably the hardest one we could have picked,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cRendering each individual stitch and executing it well in a digital illustration is hard. When the first few deadlines came around, it was a little daunting. But once you start going on it, you just get excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole collaborative effort between Michigan and the UK has been so great,\u201d Traina said. \u201cWe love getting that perspective. Formula 1\u00ae is so anchored in England, it was great to cross-pollinate ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cadillac<\/p>\n

With the Austin livery, the team wanted to celebrate Americana, Texas, and the American West, without falling into caricature or tropes. \u201cIt had to be serious, it had to look authentic,\u201d Traina said. \u201cWe treated the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae car like we would treat the interior of a Cadillac production vehicle \u2013 keeping the design elements very elevated, keeping the color palette nice and clean, but still bringing in the culture and being a little bit playful. We wanted it to feel a little lighthearted, but also like it belongs, and has a depth of detail that brings in the heritage and culture.\u201d <\/p>\n

Formula 1\u00ae fans will know that this is the third one-off livery the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team has debuted this season, with custom designs having appeared at the Miami Grand Prix in May and the British Grand Prix in July. \u201cThis season, we\u2019ve explored American identity through its symbols, its colors, and now its character,\u201d said Cassidy Towriss, Chief Brand Advisor for the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team. \u201cIn Miami, we drew on American symbols. At Silverstone, we celebrated American color. For Austin, we wanted to explore another part of that story through the character of the American West. There\u2019s so much depth to American culture, and that gives us room to express who we are as a team in ways that feel authentic, thoughtful, and distinctive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCreating the special Formula 1\u00ae livery for the U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas was an extraordinary opportunity to bring together the craft of Texas, the distinctive language of Texas style, and the precision of Cadillac design,\u201d said Dominic Najafi, Executive Director of Global Cadillac. \u201cThe embroidery-inspired theme is rooted in Texas craftsmanship, while the overall execution was developed hand in hand with the Cadillac Formula1\u00ae Team. The resulting livery reflects both the exquisite artistry and the exacting precision that define Cadillac design.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cadillac<\/p>\n

The tribute to Texas extends beyond the race cars, with custom driver suits for Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio P\u00e9rez that echo the western wear theme. A few thematic Easter eggs are hidden on the race cars themselves, including embroidered depictions of the Austin skyline and a map of the Circuit of The Americas. The livery includes 50 stars representing the United States of America, cactuses representing Texas, and a horseshoe with its heels facing up, a symbol of good luck. <\/p>\n

The Austin livery was an out-of-the-ordinary project for Traina, Thresher, and Formula 1\u00ae as a whole. \u201cWe\u2019ve never really seen anything like it,\u201d Thresher told GM News. \u201cIt appeals to people, but it\u2019s done in a tasteful way, and it stays true to Cadillac.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team takes to the track in Austin this weekend, it will be a watershed moment for everyone who worked on this one-off, Texas-themed design. \u201cI never once thought I would be designing an F1\u00ae livery,\u201d Thresher told GM News. \u201cI\u2019m forever grateful for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traina agrees. \u201cTo be able to contribute like this to a Formula 1\u00ae effort, it\u2019s just been a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How the Cadillac Formula 1\u00ae Team designed a custom, Texas-themed livery for the United States Grand Prix 2026-10-20…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":889211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[54639,362496,23,2889,4,53003,74132,22029,25237,362499,362498,6814,3,362497,3238,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-889210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-54639","tag-all-new-releases","tag-america","tag-brands","tag-breaking-news","tag-cadillac","tag-cadillac-racing","tag-english","tag-gm","tag-gm-news","tag-hero-1","tag-motorsports","tag-news","tag-news-and-events","tag-public","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}